2013, Vol. 1, Issue 1, Part A

author(s)
JB Nayak, B Rajani

abstract
The medicinal plants are widely used by the traditional medical practitioners for curing various diseases in their day to day practice. Botanical larvicides are featured prominently as alternative to synthetic chemical insecticides which are less degradable and toxic to non-target organisms. The larvicidal potentials of the leaf extract of Lantana camara and Ocimum sanctum were investigated in the laboratory against larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito. The leaf of each plant was extracted by using methanol and prepared into different concentrations 5, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 200ppm. The efficacy of each concentration was evaluated against early 4^th instar larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus. Both extracts were toxic to the larvae though at higher concentrations (25 and 100ppm) after 48 and 36 hours of exposure. The results suggest that the leaf extract of both plants could be incorporated as botanical insecticides against mosquito vectors with high safety to non-target organisms.